Trailering and tieing down 246.

kyoshi

I am new to this forum and a new boater. I bought a 2000 246 this fall and other than a test drive, have not used it yet. I am experienced in trailering, but the marina operator said that he has never tied down the boat itself, other than bow trailer hookup. This makes me nervous and is his advice correct?

Black_Diamond

Should be tied down at the transom and the bow point. Unless you want to lose it enroute :-h

Welcome to the site and congrats on the 'new' Rinker! You'll find a lot of help on here.

Michael T

Have been trailering boats for 40 years. Your 246 is a great boat. It is also a fairly big/heavy boat. Not only should it be tied down at the bow and stern but the safety chain from the front post on the trailer should be clipped or s hooked to the boat's bow trailering ring. As well, I take up the slack in that chain by looping it then putting a bolt and nut with washers in it. ONCE you get to your where you will leave the boat for the winter loosen all tie down straps enough to take the stress off the straps (and therefore the boat's hull attachment points). This will also prevent you getting what is called a "hooked" hull bottom  from undue stress on your boat's hull by the pull over time of attachment straps (often put on too tight for a long time).  Next, lower your drive fully down then touch the drive Up button lightly to take the pressure off your trim hoses, cylinders and pump. As for the idiot marine dealer who  told you tie down straps were not necessary - you better find another dealer - in my opinion. Welcome to the forum, your Rinker 246 is a great boat you'll love it. :-) MT.....P.S. I also jacked-up my trailers (with the boats on them) and put blocks under the frame points by the trailer axles to take the load off the springs, tires and brakes - and - let some air out of the tires ....but I may be a bit ocd.

212rowboat

You can get by with short runs to the ramp without the straps, of no more than 30ish mph and smooth roads.. anything more than that, strap it..

The end of my street has a launch into the icw.. boats zip up and down the street far too fast.. its a peeve of mine.. last summer, some clown hit a little dip in the road and launched his boat off the trailer into a neighbor's yard.. it was about a 20' aluminum rig.. there were enough spectators to get it back on the trailer, but he wanted a police report and for the cop to see what that 'little dip' did to his boat..

You should have seen the look on his face when the cop showed up (i knew him well), and he explained what happened.. I said in front of all of them "yeah, the dip is no more than 25% to blame... Speed is required to cause what happened, and then it wasn't strapped down".. he asked what the other 25% all arrogant like, and I looked him dead in he eye and said "your stupidity"..

You could have heard a mouse fart..

Use the straps, man, except for really short runs- even then, though, if you can remember to take them off before backing down the ramp. (i never said I wasn't an idiot)... :-)

Glassguy54

We also have a 246, 2007 model and follow the same drill as cited by MT, above. Like he mentioned, I too jack up the trailer to get the wheels off the ground and relieve stress on the springs, etc. Only thing different for me is, I have a wire cable at the winch post to the bow ring instead of chain. Either is OK as long as it is of sufficient strength for the ~5,000lb boat.

kyoshi

Thanks , I appreciate the advice. I store the boat in an insulated shed. I will get straps for the stern before spring trailering.

 

Thanks again

frodo13056

May want to consider lower unit trailering clips: http://www.amazon.com/T-H-MARINE-SUPPLIES-TRAILERING/dp/B00144B1WW/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t I've been trailering boats for about 28 years and have always had a set of the clips just in case. They not only take the stress off the hydraulic system when trailering, but they also prevent your drive from scraping the pavement in the event that the hydraulic system were to fail.

Michael T

frodo, great suggestion! I have used trailering clips on many boats - usually the heavier bravo1s but clips are great for hauling any boat - particularly if the trip will be long or over bumpy roads. As you know, once the clips are snapped onto the trim ram ss arms you can "touch" the trim button to take the load off the trim lines, rams and pump and let the clip carry the load. In fact many of my friends store their boats using clips. Several styles of clips can be trimmed in length to fit various ram arm lengths. :-) MT